William Tavington
Colonel William Tavington is the main antagonist in the 2000 historical war film The Patriot. He is portrayed by Jason Isaacs. Character As the colonel, and therefore leader, of the Green Dragoons, Tavington is portrayed as a charismatic sociopath and a brutal commander. Long ago, his late father squandered the family fortune, along with Tavington's inheritance. He becomes interested in becoming a landowner in the Ohio territory after the war, and is nicknamed "The Butcher" by Brigadier General O'Hara. The character is loosely based on Banastre Tarleton. The actor who plays Tavington, Jason Isaacs, also plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series and also voiced Ra's al Ghul in Batman: Under the Red Hood and Satan in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Film When a young man named Gabriel Martin signs up to join the Continental Army during the American Revolution in 1776, he is eventually forced to return home to his father, a French and Indian War veteran named Benjamin, and his six siblings following the Siege of Charleston. The wounded Gabriel is accompanied by many British and American soldiers who were also injured during the battle, but as Benjamin and his family take care of them, Tavington and his Dragoons appear in an attempt to arrest Gabriel. When Benjamin's son Thomas tries to free Gabriel from Tavington's men, Tavington shoots him dead. As Benjamin grieves for his son, Tavington has his house burned down and orders every wounded American soldier be executed. Benjamin and his other two sons, Nathan and Samuel, track the redcoats holding Gabriel and brutally murder them. Tavington hears this news from a lone survivor, though he is unable to discover who is behind the massacre and labels the assailant as the 'Ghost'. Benjamin is soon given the rank of colonel by his former commanding officer, Colonel Harry Burwell, and he and Gabriel then plan to fight the British forces. Lord Cornwallis, a general in the British army and who Tavington is serving under, discovers that the 'Ghost' and his followers have been attacking his units, stealing his belongings (including his two Great Danes given to him by King George III) and destroying his ferries heading to Charleston. An irritated Cornwallis blames Tavington for provoking the attackers with his brutal mannerisms, yet Tavington manages to persuade Cornwallis to allow him to use his brutal ways to deal with them. He goes out in search of the identities of some of the assailants and kills their families before burning their houses down. He discovers Benjamin's identity and travels to the house of Benjamin's sister-in-law, Charlotte, who is looking after his children. Tabington and his men search the house but Charlotte and the children manage to hide from them. Tavington later rides to the town that supplies Benjamin's forces and assembles its inhabitants within the church, claiming that they will be forgiven for their actions if they reveal to him where Benjamin's secret hideout is located. One man reveals the location to him but Tavington has the church burned down anyway, killing everyone inside, including Gabriel's new wife Anne. Category:Sociopaths Category:Complete Monster Category:Gunmen Category:Military Villains Category:Swordsmen Category:Leader Category:Evil Genius Category:Mass Murderer Category:Sadists Category:Child Murderer Category:Megalomaniacs Category:Aristocrats Category:Deceased Villains Category:Article stubs Category:Male Villains Category:Humans Category:Fictionalized versions of true events Category:Liars Category:Idealists